Scholar Paul Talbot chronicles badass action hero Charles Bronson

Paul Talbot, guilty as charged for two Charles Bronson tomes including “Bronson’s Loose! The Making of the ‘Death Wish’ Films,” explains his affinity for the Lithuanian-descended action star in an exclusive interview. Seen here on location in Durango, Mexico, a majestic, cascading waterfall sets a romantic scene as a ripped Bronson is lovingly embraced by visiting, soon to be wife Jill Ireland. Costarring Anthony Quinn and Anjanette Comer, “Guns for San Sebastian” found Bronson cast as antagonist half breed “Teclo” and was distributed on March 20, 1968. Photography John R. Hamilton / Globe Photos

“Charles Bronson had a very interesting, rough face that was slightly scary,” confesses classic cinema enthusiast Paul Talbot, the author behind both Bronson’s Loose! The Making of the ‘Death Wish’ Films and Bronson’s Loose Again! On the Set with Charles Bronson. “I liked his entire persona…no other action icon ever aged as well onscreen as Bronson did. He always kept fit and wasn’t afraid to act his age.”

In an exclusive conversation dropping today, Talbot explains his affinity for the chiseled, reticent Once Upon a Time in the West gunslingin’ victor. A kid growing up in early ’70s northeastern Massachusetts, the future historian first glimpsed Bronson as a journeyman character actor in television “movie of the week” reruns and then compared notes with his school pals. Talbot’s mom admired Elvis Presley — Bronson portrayed a dependable boxing trainer in Kid Galahad — while his dad’s all-time favorite movie was The Great Escape — Bronson’s true life experiences as a 16-year-old Pennsylvania coal miner added authenticity to his scene-stealing moments as a claustrophobic World War II prisoner among the all-star cast spearheaded by Steve McQueen and James Garner.

But catching a filled to capacity neighborhood matinee of the just-distributed Breakout, the first post-Death Wish film that found Bronson cast as an…